


that's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight

by AndyAO3



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and cuddles, M/M, and some more fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-12 23:38:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3359516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AndyAO3/pseuds/AndyAO3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teodorus Lavellan's ancestors must be rolling in their graves. But that's okay, because Dorian's ancestors are probably doing the same.</p>
<p>A/N: Fluff for Valentine's Day. With art!</p>
            </blockquote>





	that's me in the corner, that's me in the spotlight

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this ages ago but never posted it; figured Valentine's is as good a time as any.
> 
> Art by me ( http://logicalfangirl.tumblr.com/post/111043138875/ for a link)

 

Dorian trailed his fingers lightly over the scar on Teo's face, starting at the corner of those thin, pale lips and tracing its shape. "I wonder if this will make it into all those fanciful portraits of the Inquisitor that end up outliving you," he said thoughtfully.

"It doesn't _now_." Teo closed his eyes, took hold of Dorian's hand, memorizing the lines of his palm. There were faint scars, from lessons that Dorian had long since put out of his mind, and the Tevinter mage's words - _the resort of a weak mind_ \- rang as clearly in Teo's head as they had when the man had first said them. "Fuckers can't even get my vallaslin right."

"How scandalous. Do they simply misrepresent the pattern, or do they paint you as having the wrong pattern entirely?"

"First one. It's not like Mythal's is even the hardest pattern, though. I mean, yeah. There are easier ones. But Falon'din's is way more complicated, if you ask me."

"Mythal... Which one is that, again?" Dorian pulled his hand away to lean against it as he mused, elbow planted in the bedding; he lay halfway on top of the other mage, though he was careful not to smother or crush the Inquisitor with his weight. Teo was thankful for that.

He was also glad that Dorian was the sort of person to ask questions. "The protector, and guardian. But also a sort of mother-figure, I guess. Elven gods are complicated."

Dorian laughed. "I've gathered as much." But his smile softened to something gentler, and to Teo it was obvious that the Altus' thoughts had turned inward. With a slight huff, Dorian rolled off of his smaller lover, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up.

Teo eased himself up as well, bringing the tangle of covers with him and wrapping both his own thin arms and a good portion of the mass of blankets around the human's shoulders. He pressed a soft kiss to Dorian's neck. "What's wrong?"

Bowing his head, Dorian closed his eyes and smiled a little to himself; from where he sat, Teo could just barely see the corner of the man's lips quirk upwards. "Only finding it hard to imagine where this might go from here. If it should go anywhere."

" _This_ being..." Teo gestured vaguely to the room at large, and Dorian laughed.

"Indeed. _This_."

Teo frowned slightly into Dorian's neck, hiding his face in it as he considered. "...Do you _want_ it to go anywhere?"

"I don't relish the thought of leaving, if that's what you're asking." Dorian took one of those delicate elven hands and dusted soft kisses over the too-prominent knuckles; it wasn't his branded left hand, so Teo let himself enjoy the affection instead of flinching away. "But I would, if it were necessary. Perhaps it might even be better if I did so now, rather than later."

It wasn't hard to figure out what Dorian was getting at, and the more logical part of Teo's mind would even agree. Better to seperate now, before the attatchment was so strong that they couldn't bear to see it broken.

But Teo had long since stopped being logical when it came to Dorian, and he wasn't such a contrary little shithead that he'd deny something blatantly obvious. Honestly, Teo couldn't think of anyone who was better able to understand him or more worthy of his trust and respect. Even if the arrogant shemlen bastard _did_ piss him off sometimes.

"Don't leave," he said finally, after having let the silence stretch on a while. His voice was softer, quieter than usual; he knew the Altus would read the meaning of his words, and the thought made him feel vulnerable and nervous.

Dorian twisted and craned his neck to better see the little Inquisitor, quirking an eyebrow. "I worry at how quickly you came to that response."

"That wasn't a _no_ ," Teo pointed out.

"No, it wasn't. But I do wonder if you're not still an innocent in these matters, at least in part. Usually such blatant admissions of feelings are reserved for the young and foolish."

"You say that like you're _not_ young and foolish."

"I feel it's only fair to give you a bit of warning that things have a tendency to not go as planned, that's all. I am the more experienced and jaded one, when it comes to this sort of thing."

"Dorian, I'm something like ten years older than you."

"A sobering thought, when you look as if you stopped growing around the age of twelve."

"And I get frequently mistaken for an old man, so I think it comes out to be about even. Also, fuck you."

Dorian chuckled. His fingers wound themselves up with the Inquisitor's, and he gently squeezed the soft, dainty hand tangled with his own. "It only further proves how utterly _ridiculous_ you are, you know," he said, with a degree of fondness that he didn't usually allow himself to show.

"Then you must be just as ridiculous for staying," Teo replied. "Either that or you have no willpower."

"When it's you? It depends on what exactly I'm trying to resist - kissing you, or setting you and everything you own on fire. The latter has proven to be quite the appealing thought in the past, amatus."

"The feeling's mutual, don't worry." Teo unwound himself from the other mage, flopping back against the bed in an almost feline sprawl and stretching lazily. " _Mmf_. Seriously, though. Stay."

Dorian heaved a melodramatic sigh, and fell back onto the bedding to snake his arms around Teo's slim waist and pull the elf close again. This time, though, it was against his chest; his breath in Teo's hair made the little elf feel all shivery. "Oh, if I must," Dorian said, feigning exasperation. "Such a cruel taskmaster."

Teo smirked. "Only ever cruelly _honest_ with you, vhenan."

"Hmm." A flicker of doubt and old hurt crossed Dorian's features, but he hid it with a lazy smile as he kissed his Inquisitor's temple. "That remains to be seen, Teodorus."

Teo snickered, shaking his head as he settled into Dorian's embrace. Did it? After all, he was pretty sure he knew what _amatus_ meant (not that he wouldn't ask Krem later just to be sure anyway), and he was almost as certain that Dorian knew what the meaning of _vhenan_ was, too; the gist of both translations was _"you're in too deep"._

He'd said it as a way of agreeing, because frankly, both of them were in way over their heads.

 

\---

(Art by me! 8D)

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:
> 
> Tevene:  
> amatus - beloved
> 
> Elvhen:  
> vhenan - heart  
> vallaslin - blood writing  
> shemlen - quick child(ren); somewhat derogatory word for humans  
> Mythal - elven goddess of justice; protector; "All-Mother"  
> Falon'din - elven god of death; "Friend of the Dead"


End file.
